Share

Facebook

Tweet

Pinterest

Email

NEWS EDITOR GREG MIGLIORE: Curvy and creamy white, the 2012 Subaru Impreza WRX STI looks sinewy yet subtle, though the performance potential is given away by these big, sporty wheels set in wide tires. In short, it looks and feels like an athletic machine.

The joy of the STI comes from ripping off tight shifts, summoning all of the power in your wrists as you blast onto open roads. It's strong, energetic and invigorating. The 2.5-liter four-cylinder is loud, menacing and energetic. It never fails to excite the driver or alert observers to its presence.

The chassis is rock solid, even to the point of being slightly abusive. It's controlled in corners, the body is poised and this is a car that likes to be pushed. The steering returns satisfying response for enthusiasts and the reflexes are excellent.

The cabin is loud and comes off as a bit cheap in with many of the materials. You don't shell out $38,000 for the door panels on an STI, but still. Love the gauges and seats, though.

I punched up the Sport Sharp mode early on a Monday morning and dashed into work, slicing through traffic and feeling connected, confident and glued to the road. That is the STI at its best.

ASSOCIATE EDITOR JAKE LINGEMAN: Well Greg, technically the STI is at its best on a sheet of ice traveling backwards at 50 mph, but it's pretty good on the street, too.

This car does look gorgeous in Satin White Pearl. It makes the clear tail lamps look less out of place. I think I like the hatchback model as much as the sedan these days, it offers just a bit more utility, which is enough to put this car over the edge.

I love the suede seats in this model which are standard. One of my few gripes with our long-term tester were the leather seats that let skinny guys like me slide around too much, these are both comfy and grippy. Otherwise the interior is unchanged, except for the new radio, and not a moment too soon. The 2011 model didn't even have an iPod hookup!

Power is the same as last year; this one feels a little smoother because it has a few less miles on it. But as always, it has an impressive amount of pull, especially in Sport Sharp mode. Gear changes are solid without being notchy and fuel mileage is predictably terrible. Also the fuel tank is the size of a thimble.

SENIOR ART DIRECTOR CHERYL L. BLAHNIK: If I needed a wagon/hatchback, this is what I would get. Why? Because the car looks cool and features killer performance that will have you smiling during every drive.

The black-on-black interior sports seats that hold you in place around corners and are very supportive. There's even a bit of technology offered with the navigation system that had buttons that are way too small and hard to hit while driving. Then there's the cargo area, which is a good size and capable of handling a decent-sized grocery run.

As expected, it's a sporty drive with plenty of power and a six-speed manual gearbox that's easy to shift through smoothly. And it's planted in corners.

EXECUTIVE EDITOR BOB GRITZINGER: Boy, it seems like—and has been—years since our long-ago WRX was in our long-term fleet, with its basic-car persona and intuitive instinct for the road. I invariably recall that car whenever I'm driving one of these significantly higher-priced, higher-powered, and heavily equipped versions of that old Impreza WRX. As I recall, that car had a barely audible audio system, basic cloth and plastic interior, and I'm fairly certain I used a paper map to find my way around while driving it.

My, how things change—but what doesn't change is the underlying insanity that is the WRX—no matter what form it takes. In this top-end STI example, major turbo power is joined to one of the world's most responsive chassis for the money to provide a joy ride with every turn of the wheel, or punch of a pedal—gas or brake. This is the kind of car that makes you go out of your way to find the curves, the gravel back road, the long way home. In some ways, this car is almost too much to handle in some conditions—with more power than is needed on loose, off-camber gravel, for instance. On tarmac, however, the car is stuck to the road like glue, seemingly handling every bit of power and angle a driver might dial up.

ROAD TEST EDITOR JONATHAN WONG: Ah, yes, the question about if you would take a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution or a Subaru Impreza WRX STI. As Bob points out, it's good to have a choice like that and in the previous generation of the all-wheel-drive performance machines, I would be waving the diamond star flag. But with the current generation, I'm a Subaru guy ever since the STI enjoyed some much needed updates for the 2011 model year.

For 2011, Subaru stiffened the suspension substantially with stiffer springs, thicker antiroll bars, lower ride height and pillow ball bushings attaching the aluminum lower control arms to the front suspension's subframe. Those changes helped get body roll under control, which was a huge problem when this generation STI debuted for the 2008 model year.

Driving this brought back all the good memories of our long-term STI Limited sedan that I spent a lot of time in. The turbocharged 2.5-liter flat four-cylinder providing good muscle to propel the STI forward and the six-speed manual transmission's shift knob falling nicely into the palm of my hand. Yes, the transmission does have crunchy gear engagement compared to many other manual gearboxes, but trust me; they've come a long way.

Toss the car around and there's still some body roll and dive under braking, but it's an acceptable amount while still yielding healthy grip through corners. The upside is that ride quality isn't close to back breaking, which can't be said about the Mitsubishi Evolution MR.

Yes, the interior doesn't look like much for almost $38,000. Hard plastic surfaces are everywhere. I know some people find that inexcusable. And maybe so because there are a lot of options out there for the money, but there's something about the pure, no-frills performance experience the STI offers. It's quite good.